[Douglas Basford]

Hi everyone,

Although Terese beat me to the punch I'm now posting the official announcement for a reading taking place on Sept. 1, from 4:30 to 6pm, celebrating the launch of Unsplendid, a new online journal of poetry in received and nonce forms, which I founded with three Johns Hopkins alums as co-editors. I hope that you will be able to come (details below), that you will pass word along to others you think that might be interested in attending, and that you will give our website a gander and let us know what you think!

All best,
Doug

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Unsplendid
an online journal of poetry in received and nonce forms
http://www.unsplendid.com

Launch Reading
Sept. 1, 2007
4:30-6:00 p.m.
Area 405
405 E. Oliver Street (just 4 blocks east of Penn Station)
(directions and map at http://www.area405.com )

Readings by:
Peter Campion
Terese Coe
Elizabeth Hadaway
Alexander Long
Traci O'Dea
Greg Williamson

Hosted by editors:
Douglas Basford
Jason Gray
Erin Sweeten


Peter Campion teaches at Washington College in Maryland. He's the author of a book of poems, Other People (University of Chicago, 2005).

Terese Coe's poems and translations have appeared in Poetry, Threepenny Review, Smartish Pace, Nimrod, New American Writing, The Cincinnati Review, Agenda (UK), Orbis (UK), and Poetry Nottingham (UK), among numerous others, and her first collection of poems, The Everyday Uncommon, won a Word Press publication prize, published in 2005. She was awarded a 2006 residence at Vermont Studio Center and has received three Pushcart nominations and two grants from Giorno Poetry Systems, among other awards.

Elizabeth Hadaway's first book, Fire Baton, was published by the University of Arkansas Press in 2006. She held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford under the name Leigh Palmer and lives near Baltimore.

Alexander Long's Vigil was published by New Issues (2006). Co-editor of A Condition of the Spirit: the Life & Work of Larry Levis (Eastern Washington UP, 2004), Long is also the author of a chapbook, Six Prose Poems (Brandenburg Press, 2004).

Traci O'Dea's poems have appeared in Poetry, The Fiddlehead, Room of One's Own, 32 Poems, and elsewhere. She lives in Valenciennes, France, where she is teaching English, revising her poetry manuscript, and completing a novel.

Greg Williamson has two books of poetry, The Silent Partner, published by Story Line Press, and Errors in the Script, published by Overlook Press. He teaches in The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University.

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[This message has been edited by Douglas Basford (edited August 25, 2007).]

[Aaron Poochigian]

Thanks, Doug, I am so excited I may well fly out for the readings (and some Museums). I need another vacation and labor day is that Monday. We shall see.

[Douglas Basford]

Wow! Aaron, it would be great if you were there all the way from Utah! Museums and vacation aside, that would be a mark of some kinda dedication! Would be really cool to hang out again...

Cheers,
D

[Aaron Poochigian]

It's official--I'll be there unless my flight is realllly late. I will also be doing some Sappho research at the Hopkins Library, so the department here will reimburse me for the expenses. Looking forward to it. I am curious about "The Baltimore Poets"--I'll come up with a snappier title for you all.

[ChrisGeorge]

Originally posted by Poochigian Aaron:
It's official--I'll be there unless my flight is realllly late. I will also be doing some Sappho research at the Hopkins Library, so the department here will reimburse me for the expenses. Looking forward to it. I am curious about "The Baltimore Poets"--I'll come up with a snappier title for you all.

Hello Poochigian Aaron

If you are curious about "The Baltimore Poets" you need to check out the Poetry in Baltimore Forum at http://www.poetryinbaltimore.com/news.php whose anthology Octopus Dreams provides a good selection of writing in this city.

Chris



[This message has been edited by ChrisGeorge (edited August 28, 2007).]

[Aaron Poochigian]

Hey, Chris, thanks. I will check it out. You are welcome to call me "Pooch" or "The Pooch" as most everyone else does. I have lived with the nickname for so long now that my actual last name sounds as strange to me as it must to you.

[Douglas Basford]

Aaron--great that you'll be coming! Superbo! Magnifique!

Aaron/Chris: I don't in the least mean to sound contentious or self-promotional in saying this, but instead amused that we could label a "school" of poetry these days, given that the "poetry wars" skirmishes have pretty much subsided. Nevertheless, I hear that there is an editor/translator in Italy who has identified to his satisfaction that there is a "Baltimore School of Poetry," by which he means Greg Williamson, Joseph Harrison, Philip Stephens, and their recent former students who are beginning to make their mark--Cecily Parks, Daniel Groves, Natalie Shapero, Erica Dawson, Carrie Jerrell, Alexander Long, Danielle Sellers, Jason Gray, Erin Sweeten, Jaimee Hills, and others getting too numerous to mention--all decidedly of a "formalist" bent. None of these students actually live in Baltimore anymore, but the "manufacturing" hub is very much growing with Mary Jo Salter and Brad Leithauser arriving at Johns Hopkins this year. It may well be that the editor is also thinking of local poets like Moira Egan, John T. Irwin (a.k.a. John Bricuth), Allen Grossman, and Ned Balbo, who often write in received form. I haven't seen "Octopus Dreams" (I will try to locate a copy), but another facet of Baltimore's scene that may or may not be represented in that anthology can be pieced together by tracking down work by the poets above.

Cheers,
Doug

[Seree Zohar]

Douglas - enjoyed very much. 1.1 implies a long and successful future. best!

[Douglas Basford]

Hi Seree,

Thanks for the welcome pronouncement on our future!

A sneak preview of who's up in the next issue: Tony Barnstone, Dan Beachy-Quick, Geoffrey Brock, Terese Coe (tr. of Ronsard), Tom Daley, Erica Dawson, Elizabeth Hadaway, H. L. Hix, Hailey Leithauser, Traci O'Dea, Jennifer Perrine, Ryan Sawyer, Christof Scheele, and Alicia Stallings. We're excited about this new one! Due up in Sept.--the 'Sphere will be one of the first places I'll post news that it has been posted...

All best,
D

[Terese Coe]

I'm excited about it too, Douglas, and especially about Saturday—see you at the Launch! I'll take a cab from the train station and should be there on time or even early (hoping the train isn't late).

Terese